Welcome to the newly re-designed GMBMFB!
If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you would have probably seen my angry tweets over the past few weeks about how hard it has been to try and find a talented, reliable WordPress designer. After I contacted 7 different designers (and having only 2 of them contact me back), going so far as to search “WordPress designer” in Google, and even posting an ad on Craigslist, I was about to give up.
Then, my blog saviour (Mike Smith, @blogdesigner) entered the picture. I guess he had found one of my angry tweets on Twitter, and contacted me to offer up his services. He promised that he was quick to respond, and he definitely didn’t disappoint. In only 6 days (with almost 50 e-mails exchanged, and at least 10 revisions), we were able to collaborate on a great design that blended my old design with a more modern, clean look.
If you can’t remember what my blog used to look like, here’s a picture to remind you:
I feel like this new design gives my blog some life. It’s the make-over it always deserved to have, and I’m really happy. By taking the elements of what I liked best with my old blog, this what I always envisioned GMBMFB to look like, I just didn’t have the skill or time to do it.
This is how awesome my blog designer was:
You all know me pretty well by now, so in typical Krystal fashion, I was a total backseat designer. I knew I would be. I created mock-ups in Photoshop, made him tweak the tiniest little details, and was super vague about everything. Not because I was trying to be a pain in the ass, but because I really had no idea of the direction I wanted to go. I was having a major online identity crisis. But he was so easy to work with. And he answered my e-mails within minutes. I would literally send him some vague babble mixed in with lame ideas, and he would come back with paragraphs of edits and suggestions. He was always positive, never got snarky with me, and was very professional. That’s how I like to do business!
The cost breakdown:
Like a good PF blogger, I will let you know that I received quotes anywhere from $250 all the way up to $3,500+ to redesign GMBMFB. Mike’s prices are actually a lot more reasonable, and his portfolio is also a lot more impressive than some of the designers charging thousands of dollars.
The pricing for one of his custom WordPress designs generally starts at $800. However, I was able to take advantage of a deal that he offers to bloggers who want to have their design built on top of framework that he had already created. This allows him to cut his production time down – which results in cheaper rates for us! So I only ended up paying $500. Which I think is amazing, but I have to admit that price wasn’t a motivating factor for me in hiring a designer. I wanted someone that I could work well with, and whose portfolio I really, really liked.
If you like Mike’s work, please connect with him via his website, or on Twitter. :)
Anyway, have a look around at my new design. Hopefully you like it as much as I do!
47 Responses to “Welcome to the newly re-designed GMBMFB!”
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Coolll! I like it! It looks like its in “HD”. Looks really good.
What kind of framework did it exist on, previously?
youngandthrifty´s latest post —> Attention Starving Students: Show Arbie and WIN
@youngandthrifty: Thanks! It was previously on just a free theme I found for WordPress called Regulus. Then I just tweaked the crap out of it for years until it somewhat resembled what I wanted. :) Hiring someone to do it was much easier, haha.
I love the new layout. It’s still somewhat similar to the previous one but it looks more professional. Nicely done
It looks killer. :) He must be an amazing designer.
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com´s latest post —> The smallest details can really ruin something
Thanks! And yep, he IS an amazing designer. :)
Wow, it looks really sweet – congrats on the new design!
SavingMentor´s latest post —> Mortgage Mondays Coming Your Way – Win $125!
It looks a million times better, love the design!
Amazing. I love the full screen look.
While I like it, the ‘section bar’ across the top looks like it could use some antialiasing? It looks really jagged. Also, there’s no easy link to comments/number of comments like there was before.
But I do love it being full-screen.
Thanks! I’ll take a look at the ‘section bar’ to see what I can do. Also, the yellow bubble call-out beside the title of the post is where you can link to the comments and see how many there are. :)
@gmbmfb:
Looks great now. And thanks for the tip about the bubble :)
@jay: Seriously, how did I miss that?
I agree on this, jaggy looking fonts, particularly on the “2011″ and the “Hire Me”
Love it! Also, I am so glad you shared the price – I am always curious how much this stuff costs.
Looks awesome. I like that you’ve kept the DNA of the look, but you can tell a pro took it to the next level.
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Thanks Preet! :)
Hey Krystal,
Thanks so much for the kind words and also for the opportunity to create your new theme for you. I had a blast and I’m happy we got to cross paths :)
FFL? (friends for life) LOL
Like I said before, it’s hard to find someone who can put up with my crazy. Anyone that can, is a special kind of person. I will definitely recommend you to anyone looking for a designer. :)
Oh yeah, I’m loving this! Great design
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Looks awesome Krystal
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Love the new look!
Fig´s latest post —> Bits & Pieces 9/13/11
Love it. The new design looks great!
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Love the new look! :) Nice and clean!
Loving the new look, Krystal! Congrats!
I too love the new look and have already talked to Mike about my new design! Thanks for the info and I told Mike you referred me.
To your financial health — Martilyo!
http://angrymillionaire.com
Martilyo´s latest post —> September 2011 goals
Really? That’s awesome. I’m thrilled that Mike’s gonna get some referral work from it. He really is the greatest. Can’t wait to see you two come up with!
It looks good! However for me, in firefox 6.0.2 The number of comments bubble goes off the screen.
Hmm, thanks. I will look into that!
Looks good. I’m glad you could find someone to make your vision come to life.
Congratulations on the new blog design and being so savvy with the contracting! It’s always impressive when artists/agencies are able to work quickly and efficiently via email.
I look forward to many more wonderful reads!
Rosie
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Love the new design, very clean, simple but creative. I’m glad you were able to bring your vision to life, that always feels like an accomplishment!
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Krystal the design rocks! The new layout looks great :)
Cheers
The Dividend Ninja
Thanks! :)
I hate it! Sorry. Your old design was a lot better. The children’s scrawl font bugs me!
@Jackie: I’m glad you said it first, because I agree! The original design had a lot more personality infused into it, and the scrawl font bothers me as well. It makes the tabs seem to blend into one incoherent sentence scribbled by a child, whereas the original design had distinguishable tabs!
That said, it won’t stop me from reading this blog!
totally agree! However, I love this blog and have read it in its entirety. Just a thought.
The changes rock! ;)
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I like it! Finding decent wordpress designers can be a nightmare! I had to send one packing once after his work output was just hopeless. Not pretty.
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I love the new look & feel of your site – it’s not hard to tell you have a background in marketing!
I think Mike has done a superb job (and based on the price he quoted you!) and it’s commendable that you are providing readers his contact info in the event that they wish to rebrand as well.
Great stuff!
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[...] keeping her marketing position for the time being. Her blog, Give Me Back My Five Bucks has a brand new look and feel; from my standpoint, it looks awesome! It’s not hard to tell that Krystal has a background in [...]
Love the new design! Kudos, Mike!
Krystal, it’s amazing to me how many potential freelancers don’t answer inquiries for work. (You encountered it with the WordPress design; I’ve encountered it a lot recently in other areas, particularly career counseling.) When someone contacts me to ask about my freelance availability, you better believe I’m calling or emailing them back ASAP. If the freelancer is swamped and can’t take the assignment, he or she should at least send you a courtesy email letting you know.
I totally agree. As a freelancer myself, it bugs me so much when other freelancers don’t answer my inquiries. It’s okay if you’re busy! I know how that goes. Just let me know, so I can keep moving on with my search. I even got to pricing and design concept with one designer, when she stopped responding to my emails. So, so, so rude.
I’m a little late on this, but I like the new design– so clean cut and organized, yet also fun! I had been planning on redesigning my website for a while now (which meant making the switch from iWeb to WordPress) and finally got the extra push to do it. It’s a great feeling!
I really enjoy following your blog and you actually inspired my latest post (once again, I’m a little behind). Anyway, keep up the great work Krystal!
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[...] at Give me my Five Bucks Back has got a new look! Love [...]
The site looks great. I haven’t been by in a couple weeks and BAM, a spiffy site makeover.
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Thanks Jen! :)
Wish I had had the same joyous experience. I hired Mike seven weeks ago and paid a 50% deposit. He never delivered anything, and after four weeks, I lost patience and asked for a refund – never heard from him again. I would not recommend him for anything as the whole thing was unprofessional and bordering on scandalous.